Photosensitive laminated body manufacturing apparatus are employed to manufacture a photosensitive laminated body by pressing a photosensitive pigment dispersion (photosensitive material layer) applied to a light-permeable base film (support) against a glass substrate or a resin substrate. The photosensitive laminated body is thus constructed of the glass substrate or the like with the photosensitive material layer transferred thereto. After the support is peeled off from the photosensitive laminated body, the photosensitive laminated body is exposed to a certain pattern and then developed by photolithography. The same process is performed on photosensitive films having photosensitive material layers of different colors. In this manner, color filter substrates for liquid crystal panels or organic EL panels are manufactured.
For continuously manufacturing such photosensitive laminated bodies, an elongate photosensitive web comprising a photosensitive material layer and a protective film that are successively deposited on a support is supplied, and then the protective film is transversely cut off, leaving the support, at partly cut regions spaced by intervals based on the size of a glass substrate. Thereafter, portions of the protective film which corresponds to glass substrates are successively peeled off from the partly cut regions, exposing lengths of the photosensitive material layer which are pressed against the respective glass substrates thereby producing a plurality of successive photosensitive laminated bodies. The photosensitive laminated bodies are then separated by peeling the support off from the photosensitive material layer. For details of the manufacturing process, reference should be made to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-34280 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-188830.
In order to produce high-quality photosensitive laminated bodies, each of the lengths of the photosensitive material layer needs to be accurately pressed against a glass substrate at a given position thereon based on the partly cut regions from which the protective film has been peeled off. Consequently, it is necessary to detect the partly cut regions in advance, and control highly accurately the timing to press the length of the photosensitive material layer against the glass substrate.
However, since the partly cut regions are formed by a sharp cutter, it is extremely difficult to detect them with an ordinary photodetector or CCD camera. Though a highly sensitive sensor may be used to detect the partly cut regions, such a highly sensitive sensor tends to increase the cost of the photosensitive laminated body manufacturing apparatus.
According to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-34280 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-188830, the rotational speed of a roller which supplies the elongate photosensitive web to the cutter for forming partly cut regions therein is detected by a rotary encoder, and the timing at which a partly cut region reaches a glass substrate is estimated from the detected rotational speed of the roller and controlled.
If the length of the elongate photosensitive web changes or if the web slips off the roller due to stretching, sagging, vibration, and frictional force variation of the elongate photosensitive web, then the accuracy of the fed length of the elongate photosensitive web based on the rotational speed of the roller which is detected by the rotary encoder is lowered, making it impossible to position a partly cut region highly accurately on a glass substrate at a given position thereon.